Product Description
Starting today, you don't have to live in pain.

That is the revolutionary message of this breakthrough system for eliminating chronic pain without drugs, surgery, or expensive physical therapy. Developed by Pete Egoscue, a nationally renowned physiologist and sports injury consultant to some of today's top athletes, the Egoscue Method has an astounding 95 percent success rate. The key is a series of gentle exercises and carefully constructed stretches called E-cises. Inside you'll find detailed photographs and step-by-step instructions for dozens of motioncizes specifically designed to provide quick and lasting relief of:

• Lower back pain, hip problems, sciatica, and bad knees
  
• Carpal tunnel syndrome and even some forms of arthritis
  
• Migraines and other headaches, stiff neck, fatigue, sinus problems, vertigo, and TMJ
  
• Shin splints, varicose veins, sprained or weak ankles, and many foot ailments
  
• Bursitis, tendinitis, and rotator cuff problems
  
• Plus special preventive motioncise programs for maintaining health through the entire body.
  

Customer Reviews (246)

Pain Free and Drug Free Relief
A few years ago my husband was going to therapy for his hands and shoulders. He worked in a machine shop and had a few childhood accidents that haunted him as an adult, as many of us do. The one therapist had just returned from Pete Egoscue classes and was sooo excited about what he learned that he recommended this book to my husband. It took a while before we took it seriously but when we finally got dedicated to these simple e-cises, it was life changing. Yes, they are boring but that is a small price to pay for the relief from aches and pain, without drugs or surgery.
Since then, we have either recommended this book to many others or have bought this book as a gift for friends and family.
Those that have chosen to open this book and follow through with the e-cises have been pleasantly surprised. We've even had one acquaintance that decided he didn't need back surgery after following through with these e-cises.
They are not a "once and done" thing but a routine that you will actually enjoy once you commit to it.
Also, I would recommend doing them in the morning as your schedule allows. You will find that you have more energy because you're body doesn't have to battle pain throughout the day!

Getting pespective on Egoscue
You can read the testimonials showing the apparent value of this book to many people. I also seem to be having success with this after years of difficulty with other methods. This raises the question why this approach has not entered into mainstream treatment 12 years after this book was written and why for example has Wikipedia removed the article on Egoscue method?

I have yet to compose a complete answer to this question. The basic criticism seems to be that this book presents nothing new. I will present a critique of this point as follows:

1. First read what the author has to say about this (p.42): "Many of the E-cises in the following chapters are variations on familiar exercises drawn from yoga and other disciplines. Techniques for manipulating the biomechanical components of the human body have been around for centuries, mostly as means to enhance endurance, speed and balance. Still, no ancient yoga master, Renaissance fencing instructor, or Victorian-era proponent of Wooden Indian clubs and leather medicine balls ever anticipated a time when motion would become scarce."

2. Extending this idea, and adding in my own experience, it seems that the key to recovery from long term injury is to know at what level to start: for many people standard yoga and pilates classes are just too much. I've been to pilates based physiotherapists who told me to do just 2 hip rotator repetitions each day - I've tried this and in a week I've injured my hip further. For me and others out there who've got this weak, Egoscue seems to be providing a ground zero - exercises which engage and connect muscles without straining them. Unfortunately there are some conditions for which even this is not low enough - you can read about them in some of the negative reviews to this book - but for the rest of us this can be a possible start point to rehabilitation back to motion. For those who moan the exercises take too long - well you're lucky not to be ill enough - yet!

Egoscue Pain Free Method
I had a frozen shoulder and all doctors could recommend were painkillers and physical therapy that could take months and possibly a cortisone injection or surgery if physical therapy wouldn't handle.I started the exercises in the book and after a few days I was off the painkillers and after one week I had full mobility in my shoulder again.The method makes perfect sense but even better, it works and works fast without having to go the prescription drugs/surgery route.

Works but I prefer Esther Gokhale's book
This book helped with a friend's sciatica, but I found this book difficult to navigate and lacking in terms of photographs and illustrations that would really go miles to helping the reader visualize bone structures and muscles involved.

I used this book to help someone else. It worked within two days, but I had to consult others who had already gotten help in order for me to know what chapter to use. Should I use the one for hips or the back? This book does not specify which chapter to use for sciatica. Turns out the one for the back worked while the ones for the hip were not needed. I give this book an A+ for working so quickly once I found out which exercises to use for what problem. But, imagine having a specific issue and not knowing which exercises to do. There are many routines, and it certainly is no small step to do more than you need to. Many routines have overlap. The issue with sciatica is that it's felt in the buttocks or hip area, but the nerve is in the lumbar-sacral region. It's easy to be confused over which exercises are needed. Throughout the book attempts are made at describing positions and postures that are unhealthy, but there are very few pictures to show exactly what these positions look like. This brings me to my recommendation of Esther Gokhale's book.


8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Natural Posture Solutions for Pain in the Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee, and Foot (Remember When It Didn't Hurt) is a brilliantly laid out book complete with photographs of not only the correct posture positions, but also of common mistakes. Also included are illustrations of the skeleton and muscles that cut out the trouble of wondering if you're imagining the details as they have been explained. The other major benefit to Esther's method is that there is practically no maintenance routine. Once you have re-learned the way your body is meant to be carried and moved, it's simply a matter of consciously focusing until the old pattern is replaced with the new one.

I give Pete credit for his method working and even in a lightning fast time frame; however, I cannot recommend it for easy of use. I think Esther's book is profoundly easier to use and offers a practical solution that requires no daily exercises beyond the initial learning phase.

A new way to look at pain relief
This book was initially recommended by my doctor, I read it and shared my copy with other doctors, then ordered a copy for my daughter-in-law who is a Chiropractor.Many who have read, do the exercises, and remain pain free,A great investment. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (15)

Interesting
I purchased this book in an attempt to better understand what someone who is close to me is going through, and this book was very helpful.Unfortunately, the author's anecdotal commentary about her personal struggle supported the stereotypes that pain sufferers are often plagued with; laziness by not following thru on certain therapies, ignoring treatment suggestions and not taking more control of their situation.It's a shame because this patient population should be exposed to more positive role-models and success stories in order for them to have any semblance of hope or optimism.

Pain
The Pain Chronicles isn't quite as interesting as I had hoped. I have chronic pain, so I thought this book would be to my liking, however, I find myself skimming the book rather than reading it since there are many parts that just haven't kept my interest. I'm nearly done with the book, and I don't feel I've gained anything from it.

Excellent study of chronic pain and current research, also excellent as a personal essay
I really enjoyed this book.I am thinking of reading it over again, which I almost never do.It's a great summary of the current research and is also skeptical where skepticism is warranted. It isn't a self-help book.It isn't "uplifting".If it had been, I never would have gotten through the first few pages.One of the worst things you can do for people with chronic pain is promise relief to them and then not deliver.

I have osteoarthritis that is similar to Thernstrom's.Some of the information here is very, very familiar to me, because I have been through a lot of this before.Even so, it is good to hear it from somebody else, because you feel very isolated when you have chronic pain.(My mother has the same kind of arthritis I do -- in our case, it is somewhat hereditary -- and I have learned a great deal from her experience.I don't have as much fear or confusion about the future because I have seen what she has gone through.I have a clearer picture than she did at my age.)

Most of the information in this book was completely new to me.

If you have acute pain, I don't know if this book will make sense to you.(Or if you don't know acute pain from chronic pain.)But if there is someone else in your life who has chronic pain, perhaps this is a good book to help you understand better.For example, you would know not to keep asking that person, every few minutes, whether they are comfortable, or whether they still hurt.This is because if they manage to get distracted from their pain, you don't want to make them think about it again.You should just let them stay distracted for a while.

The book that should have ended 75 pages earlier. . .
The book was so infinitely perceptive (she wrote it, just before one thought it).And this was the case for 2/3 of the book.But she should have known when/how to end it.It was too long without necessity.
Her notebooks and journals, thoughts and ideas must have been of enormous weight (or the freight of her soul) for years.But someone should have edited the book, loved her enough, told her when to quit.Writers lesser than she know that sometimes one has to 'kill your puppies.'
But is it a worth it read?
Yes, an unqualified Yes.

Family Doctor Recommended
As a family doc with 25 years experience I recommend this book for both laymen and medical providers.As is so clearly pointed out in this book, the ethics of the situation makes the scientific study of pain problematic at best and thus the probable slow progress in this field. Also as so much medical provider education these days is driven by the respective pharmaceutical or device manufacturers who wants to make sure the providers are aware of the great things their new medication or device can do, and other than the new antidepressants which are gaining pain indications there is little push from that source and I think there is a lot of resistance on the part of providers to want to delve into the subject because of the great frustrations we have all felt with the "difficult" pain patients who so often don't respond to our ministrations and the lack progress in the field over the past few decades.I strongly encourage all my colleagues to read this book as a well done synopsis of the current research and a jumping off point for more detailed investigation. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. John E. Sarno is a medical pioneer whose program has helped thousands of thousands of people overcome their back conditions--without or drugs or dangerous surgery.Now, using his grounbreaking research into TMS (Tension Mytostis Syndrome), Dr. Sarno goes one step further: after identifyig stress and other psychological factors in back pain, he demonstrates how many of his patiens have gone on to heal themselves without exercise or other physical therapy.Find out:

• Why self-motivated and successful people are prone to TMS
  
• How anxiety and repressed anger trigger muscle spasms
  
• How people "train themselves' to experience back pain
  
• How you may get relief from back pain within two to six weeks by recognizing TMS and its causes

Customer Reviews (433)

An advertisement in the shape of a book
If you don't know anything about psychosomatic pain, you might learn a thing or two in this book. However, if you are looking for a method to really treat your back pain, you will not find it here. This book is just a teaser.

In short, it says "Hey, I can prove that back pain can be cured without surgery or medication in 90% of the times. I have a very efficient method to do it. Come to my office and I will help you".

Finally, even if you are just only looking for a easy interesting read, this book is also disappointing. It is poorly written and has no clear structure. It feels as a big mix of quotes about scientific studies and anecdotes about patients who got better using the authors amazing methods.

The reason I don't give just one star is because - no matter how bad the book - it gets you thinking.

Makes a lot of sense
I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders on reading this book. It seemed like the author was talking just to me. For just a few dollars I have probably saved hundreds on massages and other treatments. Do yourself a favor if you have backpain or fibromyalgia, get yourself a copy.
I am combining the knowledge with EFT for faster results.

Bought it in 1993, but 18 years later I'm just not buying it.
Correlation does not equal causation!

If this author had any scientific research experience at all, he would know that. The hypothesis behind TMS has not been through rigorous scientific testing. The excuses for the lack of research are especially lame. Blaming the fact a number of targeted subjects do not "believe" in the mind/body connection does not prevent a scientist from conducting research using scientific methods.

I have experienced chronic low back pain for 18 years, as do numerous members of my immediate family. It usually flares up every few years, but I have gone as long as 7 years without much pain. Over the years I sought treatment from various providers, including my general practitioner, an orthopedic surgeon, chiropractor and physical therapist. The episode would resolve and I would carry on until the next time.

I experienced mild to moderate pain from sciatica for the first time 2 years ago. It too resolved after several months. Three months ago the sciatica returned. Over several weeks it became more intense. Ironically, I am now a psychotherapist who has worked extensively with patients in hospital and nursing home settings and frequently help them with pain management. I do see vast benefits from acknowledging a mind/body connection, and was addressing stressors in my own life. I too tried conservative treatments. Along the way I consulted with numerous professionals. As the pain increased and my daily activities became more limited, I sought out more diagnostic tools.An MRI revealed severe disc herniation between L5 and S1, with a 1.7 cm extrusion and spinal stenosis with an 80% blockage.

I continued more consultations while addressing stressful factors in my life that affect my overall well being. As I reached the end of a very long list of conservative treatments I made an appointment with a highly regarded Neurosurgeon in the Houston Medical Center. Within days of my last assessment, the surgeon recognized signs I was beginning to lose foot strength...a possible sign of Cauda Equina Syndrome. The most conservative recommendation now made was surgery. Because I was a greater risk of permanent nerve damage I made the choice to undergo a Micro Laminectomy Lumbar as an outpatient the very next day. I felt immediate relief.

My pain has been significantly reduced. I was up and walking the same day. For the first week my pain rarely reached higher than a two on the pain scale, and previously was peaking at 8/9. Over the last 3 weeks I continue to recover and as expected am dealing with mild to moderate pain from the nerves that are recovering from being compressed for months. Over time I will utilize physical therapy to try to regain foot strength. I am realistic in acknowledging that it will be months before I know if I have permanent nerve damage.

Ironically I was looking in my library this morning for books to donate, and I came across this book that I purchased 17 years ago. I read it and agreed with the mind/body connection. I live my life where I frequently monitor and recognize my "stressors" and have many levels of coping mechanisms in place. I seek professional help when needed. My back pain comes and goes and I can usually make a correlation between events in my life, physical injuries or stressors, and pain. My pain has usually improves within a week, and has always resolved within a month...until this last episode.

Bottom line...there are many scientific studies that support figures that 80% of patients with back pain report this pain resolves regardless of treatment option chosen, including no treatment. This author's results are self-reported as no better than that.

The absence of scientific data to support his own theory is the most conclusive data this doctor provides!

Some good advice gets overshadowed by bad science.
I am dealing with the mind-boggling excruciating pain of sudden attacks of sciatica from a herniated disc. Let me preface what I'm going to say with this: I am the very first person to understand and respect the mind-body connection. I am a midwife, a highly educated medical professional who is holistic and uses mind-body medicine often in my work. But I also need some believable science behind what I adopt for myself and for my patients.
Dr. Sarno outlines a syndrome he calls TMS, or Tension Myositis Syndrome. I completely believe him-- that stress and repressed emotions can lead to severe muscle tensionand inflammation which causes pain. Yes, yes yes. I'm certain that plays a huge role in my life. And I should look at that and make changes, I agree. But just like I can't accept Christiane Northrup's assertion that women's unresolved emotional issues are the cause of their fibroids, I can't accept Dr. Sarno's assertions that herniated discs do not cause pain:

"It has been my experience that herniated disc material is rarely responsible for pain or any other neurological symptom."

"My conclusion is that most disc herniations are harmless....the extruded material is not hurting anything, it is just there."

"The clear observation is that it is TMS and not disc pathology that causes the pain...the anatomical aberration may not be pathological."

"The low back is the most common location for an acute attack. It is the most painful thing I know of in clinical medicine, which is ironic because it is completely harmless."

"If I am trying to get people to stop paying attention to their bodies and start thinking psychologically about their pain, am I not contradicting my own therapeutic strategy if I prescribe physical therapy? I recommend to patients that they stop doing all exercises that are designed to protect or help the back, for the same reason. They must do NOTHING to focus attention on the painful area. In this same vein, patients are taught that there is no correct way to bend or lift, one doesn't need to avoid soft chairs or mattresses, corsets and collars are unnecessary, and in general the great number of admonitions and prohibitions that have become part of back pain folklore are simply without foundation, because TMS is harmless, and there is nothing structurally wrong with the back."

So...if Dr. Sarno has anything to teach about the mind-body connection, and I'm sure he does, he has completely undermined his ability to do so, at least for me. I refuse to throw out everything I know about anatomy and physiology as well as my own MRIs and my experience with nerve pain. I am always trying to get people to pay better attention to their bodies, not to ignore them. I'm sure lots of people have been unable to hear what might be a good lesson because of his outright rejection of proven science.

Be kind to yourself - read: Healing Back Pain by John E. Sarno, MD
This is an excellent book and I am a different person for having read it.For a little back ground - I broke my back, L4 crushed and L1 when entering a recessed living room almost a year ago.I don't recommend anyone else doing this - the pain is awful.Broke my L knee and R shoulder eight months before the back.Finally had a cornea transplant so I can see again (IT'S WONDERFUL) and stop walking where I should NOT be!

My mind and doctors had worked overtime convincing me that I would never be without pain, would have to always be very careful, take pain pill, etc.Well, after reading this book two times and believing what I was reading, I daily started working the program by not taking any more pills, working on forgetting the diagnosis & all the things I had been telling myself, working on total understanding of TMS & how the RAGE we ALL have is affecting me and how very slight(but harmless)oxygen deprivation causes the pain, ordered the DVD and MINDBODY PRESCRIPTION, (both outstanding) both by Dr. Sarno, and I was on my way.

In two days my knees, my thumbs, the awful sciatic pain from the buttocks to my ankle had stopped hurting - completely!!!My back was MUCH better but I obviously needed to dig deeper in my understanding and self reflecting, which I did and am still doing, two months later, and will continue.

I continue to follow the program daily by reading, and/or watching the DVD, and/or writing/journaling and digging deeper within my memory.My conscious mind IS in charge!!! And - my back seldom hurts and when it does it's not much, and all my other aches and pains are either gone or maybe once a week I get a reminder that I have a knee or thumb from a sharp stabbing pain - ONCE - and it's gone.A reminder for me to keep working the program.

Read this wonderful book & the others by Dr. Sarno and work the program - it can be done in 15 to 30 minutes morning and night.Dr. Sarno has help thousands of people - a worthy group for all of us to join.

If I can stop the pain - and I have - at 84, you can do it, too.LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!
... Read more

Customer Reviews (163)

Helpful tips for a pain free back
Helpful information and instruction, writtten within a historical context, on how to lessen and/ or eliminate back pain.

Good posture book
The book is well written and understandable. It contains lots of helpful pictures. Everyone should work on their posture and this is a good book for that.

Everyone should have this book
A must have book for everyone who wants to live painfree with ease and comfort in their body throughout their life. Well set out book, with easy to follow instructions for improving posture and body use and great photos to keep you interested.

Brilliant. Easy to use. + This vs. Pete Egoscue's
Much more than simply backs, this book will teach you how to sit, stand, walk, and bend to preserve your entire body. Even if you think you have a firm idea of what form is right, you are sure to come across some surprising moments of realization.

What makes this book especially easy to follow is the abundance of photographs of real people exhibiting healthy form and colored illustrations showing relevant skeletal and muscular components in action. This is very helpful because these concepts are difficult to imagine even if you have a strong background in anatomy. What would be very difficult to convey in a book is made accessible.

The layout: Esther shows us 1) what TO do and also, 2) what NOT to do (through images of common mistakes). Her approach makes it very clear to the reader exactly what proper form is and is not.

You might be surprised to learn that:

*many of the seats available to us contribute to and promote slumping and a tucked pelvis
*six-pack abs and tight pectoral muscles can easily translate to poor posture
*many exercises meant for strengthening the back exacerbate back pain

This book is much easier to use than Pete Egoscue's Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain because his contains a comparatively limited number of illustrations. I found myself frustrated in trying to visualize concept's from Pete's book; however, I can provide testimony to the effectiveness of exercises in his chapter on the back to help with sciatica. (I helped a friend of mine using Pete's book.) What Pete doesn't give that Esther does is a comprehensive makeover of how you move in your daily life, which takes the place of his prescribed daily maintenance routine.

One quibble over Esther's book: not all muscles in the appendix on anatomy are shown even though they are mentioned in the book. (But, their locations are accurately described in line within the book. I still, though, had trouble imagining where such muscles as the psoas and rhomboid are.)

This really is a book I would recommend everyone learn from. It will open your eyes. Healthy posture is more than just standing taller: it brings out confidence and prevents debilitating injuries later in life. Give yourself the freedom to move in a way that preserves your structure and allows you not to be prematurely bedridden. And, these ideas are best taught at a younger age, especially to children in school, where they often slump in desks and carry on with a tucked pelvis for the rest of their lives.

Buy it and loan it out to friends and loved ones when you're finished with it! It's worth every penny!

Highly recommended product
I don't have back problems myself, but I got this book as a recommendation from a relative.As a family physician, I know that I am at risk for back problems due to posture.I have also treated more than my fair share of people with chronic back problems.This book provides a good foundation for addressing back issues.It is full of good pictures and has very clear instructions for exercises.It's a great start for people who are just starting with back problems or who have had back issues for years--and even those who have had back surgery. ... Read more

Product Description
For four decades, Dr. Les Fehmi has been a leader in brainwave biofeedback (also called neurofeedback), training individuals how to balance and regulate their brainwave patterns to improve mental, emotional, and physical health.

Dissolving Pain is based on the premise that although pain is perceived to exist in a particular part of the body, pain in fact resides in the brain. Dr. Fehmi shows us that it is possible to learn to resolve pain at the brain level, using simple attention exercises. Drawing on scientific research, Dr. Fehmi explains how to quiet the pain signal in the brain, empowering readers to free themselves from many forms of pain and discomfort.

Included with the book is a 65-minute audio CD in which Dr. Fehmi guides listeners through the fundamental Dissolving Pain exercises.

To learn more, visit openfocus.com. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Pain relief as promised.
So called " brain training " or " Bio Feedback " books are typically as interesting as an owner's manual and just as difficult to understand.I am pleased to join Dr. Andrew Weil in recommending this truly helpful book.

Dr. Fehmi has laid out a series of exercises that are easy to follow and understand.If you suffer from any form or physical or emotional pain, you owe it to yourself to read and implement the life changing program in " Dissolving Pain ".An interesting sidebar: Dr. Fehmi's excercises can be used to reduce or alleviate a variety of pain but interestingly, can even show you how to alleviate that annoying itch that you can't scratch!

Fascinating and helpful, buy this book for anyone you know that is suffering from pain.

Not a painful read!
I reluctantly read " Dissolving Pain " after trudging through several other " Bio Feedback " related books.To my surprise, it was both a helpful and engaging read.Having suffered for years with migraine related pain and most recently, emotional pain, I was open to try the excercises outlined.

Not only has the book helped tremendously, but Dr. Fehmi's alternative to pharmaceutical healing was just what I needed.I have recommended Dissolving Pain to several co-workers who suffer from a variety of pain issues.If only I had read this 4 weeks earlier when I had lingering pain from a multiple wisdom tooth extraction!

Chapter 4 is titled " The domain of pain is mainly in the brain ", which really sums up the book for me. I rarely thank and author ,but for the record, thank you Dr. Fehmi and co-author, Jim Robbins for this insightful and helpful book.

Dissolving Pain with Open Focus is a Must Read!
For too many-the other becomes pain. Pain becomes the object of our attention and energy. We become fixated on the physical or emotional discomfort.
An excellent tool is well described in Fehmi and Robbins latest book: Dissolving Pain".
As a psychotherapist specializing in facilitating client's goals to optimize their lives, I work with many high achievers. Discomfort, soreness, fatigue, and pain are a recurring issue for many.
The Open Focus training process is a group of verbally guided exercises asking the listener to focus on specific places and space. This procedure which is easy to learn improves attention and performance.
The second book "Dissolving pain" permits the listener to localize and accept the discomfort without trigger a stress response. For over 14 years, I have been introducing dissolving pain to athletes, golfers, singers, dancers, business people and clients who have experienced developmental trauma.

The guided process permits the client to merge-disengage-accept the emotion-sensation -the blocking energy.This is a well written book.
Rae Tattenbaum, MSW,LCSW,
Director, Inner Act, West Hartford, Conn.
[ASIN:1590307801 Dissolving Pain: Simple Brain-Training Exercises for Overcoming Chronic Pain]

Pain in the Brain - Manage Your Brain, Manage Your Pain
I've been using Les Fehmi's Open Focus Attention brain exercises for awhile. They work.

How? By doing simple exercises that focus on your body's relationship to space, you change the way you pay attention, and that changes your brain wave activity ... which changes your physiology and the hormones and chemicals that keep our bodies going. Of course, sometimes the hormones and chemicals run amock and flood our system with emergency chemicals that we don't need, as if we're in a constant state of "fight or flight" emergency mode. By learning how to manage your attention and how to develop "attentional flexibility", you can find relief from stress, anxiety, and pain. Check out The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body (Book & CD)

I haven't read this new book by the Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins (Jim is also the author of Symphony in the Brain, A Symphony in the Brain: The Evolution of the New Brain Wave Biofeedback).

BUT, I am signed up to listen to a free book launch teleseminar tomorrow at 1 pm EDT, with the authors (Fehmi and Robbins), who will speak about "Dissolving Pain". Anyone can sign up: [...] ... Read more

Product Description
Terrie Williams knows that Black people are hurting. She knows because she's one of them.

Terrie had made it: she had launched her own public relations company with such clients as Eddie Murphy and Johnnie Cochran. Yet she was in constant pain, waking up in terror, overeating in search of relief. For thirty years she kept on her game face of success, exhausting herself daily to satisfy her clients' needs while neglecting her own.

Terrie finally collapsed, staying in bed for days. She had no clue what was wrong or if there was a way out. She had hit rock bottom and she needed and got help.

She learned her problem had a name -- depression -- and that many suffered from it, limping through their days, hiding their hurt. As she healed, her mission became clear: break the silence of this crippling taboo and help those who suffer.

Black Pain identifies emotional pain -- which uniquely and profoundly affects the Black experience -- as the root of lashing out through desperate acts of crime, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, workaholism, and addiction to shopping, gambling, and sex. Few realize these destructive acts are symptoms of our inner sorrow.

Black people are dying. Everywhere we turn, in the faces we see and the headlines we read, we feel in our gut that something is wrong, but we don't know what it is. It's time to recognize it and work through our trauma.

In Black Pain, Terrie has inspired the famous and the ordinary to speak out and mental health professionals to offer solutions. The book is a mirror turned on you. Do you see yourself and your loved ones here? Do the descriptions of how the pain looks, feels, and sounds seem far too familiar? Now you can do something about it.

Stop suffering. The help the community needs is here: a clear explanation of our troubles and a guide to finding relief through faith, therapy, diet, and exercise, as well as through building a supportive network (and eliminating toxic people).

Black Pain encourages us to face the truth about the issue that plunges our spirits into darkness, so that we can step into the healing light.

You are not on the ledge alone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Book has potential
This book has good parts. I couldn't complete all of it because I got tired of reading all the stories of people dealing with depression. I wanted to read more about the affects of depression on the Black community. I wanted her to articulate the cause/solution oppose to providing so many stories of people dealing with depression. But like I said earlier there were good points in this book. I don't want to discourage anyone from getting this book.

Must read
Ms. Williams writes clearly and engagingly about her own experiences with depression, weaving it seamlessly into an important discussion about the impact of race, culture, and history on the African-American community's handling on mental health concerns.She uses lots of interesting quotes and examples from important members of the global community, and packages information that is really need-to-know in readable bites.Love it.

Finally
I'm grateful that this book was written about a topic that doesn't get much attention. I am so glad Ms Williams decided to share her experiences. This book is a terrific read for anyone not just black people or people dealing with depression. For people to ask for help when they are suffering we all need to understand that black people are dealing with these issues.

A must read for the black community
I wish that everyone I know, regardless of their racial background, could get a copy of this book, because ultimately the unresolved pain in the black community affects us all. A good friend of mine recommended this book several months ago, and I am glad that she did. Terrie Williams takes a comprehensive look at subject that is often too "taboo" in the black community - emotional pain and mental suffering. And yet, if you look at a lot of things that plague our communities, from problems related to addiction, domestic-violence and other self-destructive patterns, you will find emotional pain and suffering almost always at the root. But we can't talk about these things freely (especially us men) because to do so is to be deemed weak - or so we think - or because of the myth that only "white people" have these kinds of mental illnesses. To not be well mentally, however, is just as bad as not being well physically and Ms. Williams does a great job of highlighting these facts and suggests ways to combat these problems. I highly recommend this book. I know from personal family experience the toll that unresolved pain does in the lives of families. I wish this book had been around when I was much younger...

A MUST read for EVERYONE
If ever there was therapy in a book, Black Pain has it. Terrie Williams put her finger on a problem that has permeated black culture like an odorless gas seeps into a house and slowly poisons it's occupants. The pain so many feel and can't identify is like that poison, creating depression, drinking and drug problems, and overall unhappiness, as the underlying cause is ignored. This book brings the problem to light through Terrie's personal voice and honest telling of her own experience with this pain. This book should be read by every human being--to understand that racial double standards still exist and how it effects our brothers and sisters. Only with awareness can healing begin! Daylle Deanna Schwartz ... Read more

Product Description
Why must humanity suffer?In this elegant and thoughtful work, C. S. Lewis questions the pain and suffering that occur everyday and how this contrasts with the notion of a God that is both omnipotent and good. An answer to this critical theological problem is found within these pages.Amazon.com Review
The Problem of Pain answers the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a "less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind. --Jill Heatherly ... Read more

Customer Reviews (116)

Why does God allow pain?
In The Problem of Pain C.S Lewis addresses the "elephant in the room" when it comes to Christianity.He answersthis question, if God really loves us why does he allow pain to come into our lives? Everyone at one point or another asks themselves that. C.S Lewis gives us a new point of view and theological reasons to this issue.

One of the main reasons that he tells us is that our pain is a reflection of our sin. When we sin we are subconsciously turning our hearts away from the Lord and that causes us to endure pain. "We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin." Lewis mentions this because people who are constantly in emotional pain are waiting for time to cancel their sin. Not everyone who is in pain is experiencing it as a reflection of sin, but as christians we seem to be in a lot more pain than others due to sin. This is because we know what is right and we choose to walk down the pain of temptation and sin. "From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the centre is opened to it."

C.S Lewis also explains how once you experience God's love for you, you will forever long to have it. "God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love."This part of the book helped me to re-fall in love with God. As Christians we find it easy to become accustomed to just do the "christian walk" and we start to forget about all the things that God has actually done for us. "We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it." This quote was one of the most powerful quotes for me through out the entire book. It moved me so much because I could see in my own life where I was putting God on the back burner. This book has taught me a lot of things that will help me through out my life.

C.S Lewis is an amazing man of God. You can see it in his writing that he writes because of experience. He lets his walk with God lead his writing. As Christian reading this book you can look into the words that Lewis says and relate it to your lives. I believe that God has given Christians this chance to have authors like Lewis to relate to and to seek advice from. In the end this is the statement I will leave this with, "God has paid us the intolerable compliment of loving us, in the deepest, most tragic, most inexorable sense."

Lewis Tackles the Problem of Pain
It is somewhat inconceivable to believe that the same man who authored "A Grief Observed" also penned a book about pain. But Lewis is honest about his task in regards to writing about pain, stating that "All arguments in justification of suffering provoke bitter resentment against the author." This is perhaps why a "Grief Observed" is so incredible. In a "Grief Observed" Lewis writes about his own suffering (the lost of his wife) in stark detail, expressing his doubts about his faith and God. So in a sense, "The Problem of Pain" should be read juxtaposed to "A Grief Observed" since any resentment against the author will quickly dissipate with the turn of each page. Behold a man who could not avoid the problem he set out to justify. The "Problem of Pain" deals with the theoretical justification for pain; "A Grief Observed" is the application of that theory.

In this book Lewis writes: "If I knew a way of escape [escape from suffering] I would crawl through sewers to find it. But what is the good of telling you about my feelings? You know them already: they are the same as yours. I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. That is what the word means. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine of being made 'perfect through suffering' is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." Thus, Lewis sets out to give us a different perspective about suffering. He traces suffering back to the fall in Eden and Satan's reign in the world. Lewis also talks about human pain and animal pain. Lastly, Lewis switches voices as he discusses heaven and the restoration of the human soul.

I'll admit that this book isn't an easy read. I'll be the first to admit that there are many things in this book that I have yet to understand. But I think that with more time and experience, I will be able to re-read this book and think, "Alas Lewis, I see."

The human spirit will not surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it
The pages are yellowing on my modest collection of C.S. Lewis paperbacks.I've read them several times over the years, and they ring as strong and true as the first time through them, if not more so.

In the Problem of Pain, Lewis deals with the difficulty of suffering in a world created by a good and all powerful God.As a Catholic, I understand that suffering exists to bring about a greater good, but why is that? Basically, it comes down to our free will; if humans are beings free to choose and not simply automatons, we have to have the ability to go bad: we are self-absorbed rebels and, as Lewis explains, "the human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it."

There are plenty of great, informative reviews already written, but I just want to highlight two passages that stood out to me; I'm a sucker for dogs, so these both had added impact.

The first passage is an analogy to help explain why pain is involved - even necessary - in God's plan for us to reach perfection:

"Man interferes with the dog and makes it more lovable than it was in mere nature. In its state of nature it has a smell, and habits, which frustrate mans' love: he washes it, house-trains it, teaches it not to steal, and is so enabled to love it completely. To the puppy the whole proceeding would seem, if it were a theologian, to cast grave doubts on the 'goodness' of man: but the full-grown and full-trained dog, larger, healthier, and longer-lived than the wild dog, and admitted, as it were, by Grace to a whole world of affections, loyalties, interests, and comforts entirely beyond its animal destiny, would have no such doubts."

How true. House breaking must be a complete mystery to that furry, little, tail-wagging barbarian; and the concept of bathing must be as linked in the mind of a puppy to torture as food is to pleasure.

Lewis continues:

"It will be noted that the man takes all these pains with the dog, and gives all these pains to the dog, only because it is an animal high in the scale - because it is so nearly lovable that it is worth his while to make it fully lovable. He does not house-train the earwig or give baths to centipedes. We may wish, indeed, that we were of so little account to God that He left us alone to follow our natural impulses - that He would give over trying to train us into something so unlike our natural selves: but once again, we are asking for not more love, but less."

The next passage, near the end of the book, deals with the idea of vicariousness in Christianity. As we are saved and resurrected in the man Christ, so too, Lewis supposes, our pets may - may, mind you - be taken up through us as we are taken up through Christ:

"And in this way it seems to me possible that certain animals may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters. And the difficulty about personal identity in a creature barely personal disappears when the creature is thus kept in its proper context. If you ask, concerning an animal thus raised as a member of the whole Body of the homestead, where its personal identity resides, I answer `Where its identity always did reside even in the earthly life -- in its relation to the Body and, specially, to the master who is the head of that Body.' In other words, the man will know his dog: the dog will know its master and, in knowing him, will be itself. To ask that it should, in any other way, know itself, is probably to ask for what has no meaning. Animals aren't like that, and don't want to be."

Since reading that passage, I have often wondered, petting my dogs as they rest so blissfully on the couch, if one day I may find that in return for the adoration and companionship they have afforded me, if, in 'civilizing' them, I have not done a greater thing than I know.

a perspective on conveyance
There are things in life that can be learned which cannot be taught.

For some of those things it is a matter of audience.

I remember a song from a couple years ago which contained, roughly, "You never know what God is going to use to reach you." In particular, there was a line about having to say goodbye to someone who left too soon.

The moral of the song was, again roughly, "that which is bad, is actually good, when you belong to Jesus."

I think it is perfectly fine to have this realization *for yourself*.
I can quite see someone in the grip of loss, steadfast in their faith, come to God and worship and cling to His sufficiency and providence.
But I think this realization loses all of its power when you try to translate it to the 2nd person.
"Hey, you should worship God because of this."
Whether this conveyance is true or not, the message is lost.
The moral compass of the hearer almost becomes a raging beast, "What right have you to tell me to submit to this injustice."

That's why I didn't like the song much then.

I like it even less today.

This is because I now have a brother and a friend who have both been asked to make the sacrifice of Abraham, their child. Or if the analogy breaks down, because Abraham made a choice, the sacrifice of Job, which was to worship through the loss.

So if one is going to talk about someone's pain, one is, from the outset, choosing to be indelicate. He is choosing to talk in 2nd person about those things which experienced in 1st person sweep one directly into the throes of existence and mortality.

That said, The Problem Of Pain is about as delicately indelicate as can be achieved on the matter.

Can anything good come from Nazareth? ... or Pain?
In the beginning of Saint John's gospel, Philip finds Nathaniel and excitingly tells him, "We have found the [Messiah], Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth!" Nathaniel's obviously less than enthusiastic response was, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (Jn 1:45-46). I think if we approached a friend and told that friend, "I have a new richer outlook about pain!" Our friend would most assuredly respond very glumly, "Can anything good come from pain?" Let me qualify that statement! Our friend would reply thus, unless they had read "The Problem of Pain" by C. S. Lewis.

This book is based on the claim and belief that underlies all Lewis' works, and that Nathaniel quickly found out, that something good did come out of Nazareth! With his extraordinarily rare brilliance that mystifies his readers, Lewis takes a subject that does not make sense, cannot be understood, and cannot be readily accepted. Startlingly, we then marvel as his incredible mind begins to make sense of all this, so that we, the reader, can begin to understand, and learn to accept to some degree, certainly in this case, one of the most difficult aspects of life that many people have to face or experience.

Nathaniel did not just swallow what Philip said; but, he accepted the invitation, "Come and see!" We certainly do not have to buy this whole matter blindly. I even propose that we do not even have to read the entire book! We just need to go and see for ourselves. Begin to read the book and see what happens!
... Read more

Product Description
The phenomenon known as the McKenzie Method has helped millions of people with chronic back and neck pain. In 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, its founder, world-renowned physical therapist Robin McKenzie, shares the innovative program that can save you from a life of pain. 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life combines and enhances McKenzie's back and neck books that have sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.

The 7 essential steps that make up the McKenzie Method have become the keystone for back and neck care in 35 countries, including the United States. In this easy-to-follow, fully illustrated book, you'll read about:

* Common causes of lower-back and neck pain
* The vital role discs play in back and neck health
* Easy exercises that alleviate pain immediately
* How to stay out of pain

Complete with more than 150 photos and illustrations, and considered the treatment of choice by health care professionals throughout the world, 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life will help you get out of pain-and stay out of pain. It is an invaluable tool for better health.Amazon.com Review
What causes chronic, debilitating back pain, one of the most common--and expensive to treat--ailments in the world? According to Robin McKenzie, a New Zealand physiotherapist for over 40 years and author of the wildly popular self-help manuals Treat Your Own Back and Treat Your Own Neck, distortion of the spinal disks--either from bad posture or injury--is the cause of the pain. The magic cure is the McKenzie Method--seven very specific exercises that allow the spine to return to its natural position. But forget the doctors--McKenzie asserts that the management of your back pain is your responsibility. Practice his seven unique exercises (the book includes seven each for the back and neck) consistently and at regular intervals and just about anyone can cure his or her own back or neck pain without the help of professionals. McKenzie believes self-treatment is actually more successful than medical interventions like surgery, chiropractic, or physical therapy, and indeed, recent research does show self-treatment to be a highly effective method.

More richly detailed and in-depth than his previous books, this volume is illustrated with over 100 photos and liberally peppered with real-life case histories. Starting with an analysis of how the back and neck work, it moves on to a discussion of the common causes of pain--bad posture is most often to blame. At the core is a detailed explanation of how to do the McKenzie Method exercises, when to apply them, and how to adjust your personal program over time. Included are instructions for people who suffer with acute back and neck pain (with appropriate cautions regarding when to call a medical professional) as well as for people in special situations like pregnant women, athletes, and seniors. An impassioned introduction by coauthor Craig Kubey, a satisfied convert after suffering intense back and neck pain as a result of several auto accidents, could very well make a believer out of anyone. --Marianne Painter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (95)

This is a pamphlet -- not a book.
Inside this 208 page book are 200 pages of fluff, bad writing, tedious repetition, and silly self aggrandizement.

Go to the book store -- read the section on 'exercises'.It takes about 20 minutes.

MW

Super But
This book is superb in every way but one. The instructions for Back Exercise 4, on page 78, should include what an excellent chiropractor advises: When starting standing upright, with your hands in position in the small of the back, before bending your trunk backward, lift your trunk upwards as much as possible to stretch the spine to prevent it from being crunched by the bend at the small of the back.
This book, especially its central seven exercises, enabled me to overcome, and Exercise 4 to keep at bay, the excruciating back pain I experienced after two injuries, including three vertebral compression fractures in the spine.

7 Steps to a pain-free life
I purchased this book on a friend's recommendation. The back exercises are very helpful and simple...however they are expected to be done every two hours to start...who has that kind of time to commit. The expercises do help.

Good book to help back/neck pain sufferers
The content was great, although it's starting to get a bit dated. The overall writing wasn't that impressive. I found it to be very repetitive, and fairly self-serving. That said, the repetition makes it useful for folks who want info on how to cure their ailment, so it was probably a good thing. The text was published in 2000, and fortunately things have changed for the better. Manufacturers make better chairs, ergonomics is more widely known, and more physicians understand there are alternatives to injections and surgery.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of progress to be made. Too many people suffer from back/neck pain the medical community can't figure out. My neurologist/OMT doctor referred me to this book and I've been amazed by the results of her treatment and the common-sense info from this book. I'm happy to say I'm painfree after years of suffering, and was able to complete a 5K run this weekend after only a few treatments and a week of this book. Worth your time to read, and a lot cheaper then another doctor's visit.

Only works on disc issues
These exercises only work if you have disc issues. For joint or muscle pain, they're pretty ineffective. You'd be better off with simple stretches. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (10)

Man Enough by Frank Pittman III
This product is very easy to read and very educational.I would recommend that others read this book.

One of the Best Books on the Subject
I have had chronic pain for years and I work with people who have chronic pain.

If you are looking for self-help with chronic pain, I do not think you will be disappointed with this book. It is one of three I provide to patients to help introduce basic chronic pain coping resources. The others are the "The Pain Survival Guide," by Dennis Turk, PhD and "Hypnotize Yourself Out of Pain Now!" By Bruce Eimer, PhD.I suggest owning all three.They effectively cover a range of knowledge of what works in helping chronic pain patients help themselves.

In "Managing Your Pain . . ." Dr. Caudill describes up-to-date and proven means of controlling pain. The book is systematically structured as an effective self-help tool. Caudill explores how mind and body interact to manage pain. The book effectivly provides many well-formed exercises to effectively encourage adoption of pain management skills.I encourage patients to use it as part of their outpatient pain treatment process and routinely suggest it to patients who prefer to work on their own. In either case, many patients effectively apply it with little or no assistance.The book also offers suggestions of additional readings.

I also recommend this book to healthcare professionals who regularly, or occasionally, treat individuals with chronic pain, as an effective summary of current clinical wisdom on chronic pain.

It is important to add that, for many with chronic pain, gaining the motivation to help self is the biggest challenge. Often a first issue is determining if the cost of addressing, managing and taking responsibility to manage you pain appears worth the benefit. Caudill treats both issues with understanding and empathy.

book
I bought the book, it sits on my desk, but I bought it, might read it soon.thank you for allowing me to buy this book.........

Incredibly Beneficial Book!
I purchased this book as a requirement for a pain management program that I attended.The book has been incredibly helpful in my efforts to improve my overall quality of life and manage my fibromyalgia better.The information provided would help anyone with any type of pain problem.I recommend it to everyone I know who has a back problem, or any type of pain.My functioning is so much better, and my day to day life is just easier.I also have a much better mental outlook on life, as a result of taking better care of myself.My family and friends all see a huge difference in my functioning level and happiness.Having the tools to cope better has given me so much hope for the future.I no longer feel like a victim of this illness.Also, I have read just about every book on pain that I can get my hands on.This has to rank up there with the best of them.The trick is that you have to implement the suggestions and really change some things about your life if you want it to work. Do not hesitate one second to buy this book!

Lots of options for those w/pain
I'm glad to have alternative ideas because I have more than one autoimmune disease and the ideas in this book give me a sense of getting real control over this pain - control that will continue. ... Read more

Product Description

Bronze Medal Winner of a 2009 National Health Information Award

Stop your pelvic pain . . . naturally!

If you suffer from an agonizing and emotionally stressful pelvic floor disorder, including pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, prostatitis, incontinence, or discomfort during sex, urination, or bowel movements, it's time to alleviate your symptoms and start healing--without drugs or surgery. Natural cures, in the form of exercise, nutrition, massage, and self-care therapy, focus on the underlying cause of your pain, heal your condition, and stop your pain forever.

The life-changing plan in this book gets to the root of your disorder with:

• A stretching, muscle-strengthening, and massage program you can do at home
• Guidelines on foods that will ease your discomfort
• Suggestions for stress- and pain-reducing home spa treatments
• Exercises for building core strength and enhancing sexual pleasure

Customer Reviews (19)

Great Resource
This book provides lots of information for those of us who suffer from pelvic pain. There are probably way too many excercises for most people to follow, but I'm trying many of them

a wonderful holistic approach to healing pelvic pain for the lay person
Healing Pelvic pain has been an incredible asset to me. I am new diagnosed just six weeks with intercestial cystitis and found out about Amy's book through the IC Network.I have been using the breathing, massage, and pelvic exercises now for just a week several times a day and I am seeing improvement not only in lessening my pain but stress level also which I am find a necessity to any type of healing.My goal is to get off all the meds that have been presribed to me for my illness and I feel strongly that with Amy's book and hard work I will be able to do so. I thank Amy for taking the time and effort to put together such a wonderful resource! I hope in the future she can produce a DVD, that would be a great help.

program that helps
Amy Stein has written a book on a subject that is common and not often discussed.In her book she has made statements that I had not heard before and have helped to clarify a lot of information for me.She is the first one to suggest that relaxing the pelvic muscles first, before strengthening, is necessary if you are in pain.Her home program is really helping!Thank you, Amy

Great resource. A true self-help book.
What a great book! Amy Stein tells us everything we need to know to treat ourselves. She is not holding back some advanced secret treatment that is only revealed on a for pay web site or at an expensive seminar. It is also devoid of all the psychobabble that is present in other books that cover the uro-genital area. She is above board.
Highly recommended.

Lots of explicit information/self-help for pelvic disorders
Heal Pelvic Pain is an absolute must read for people who suffer from any sort of pelvic/bladder/bowel disorder. Amy Stein covers a lot of ground and give explanations in simple terms to help people understand the source of their pain. She have clear instructions on exercises and stretches to begin or incorporate into an exercise program to help stop the pain.She also adds simple self-care treatments that can take the edge off the pain and support the healing process. I found lots of questions answered in this book that other health care professionals didn't know or failed to communicate to me. ( I have seen many!) I highly recommend this book!!! I plan to pass this book on to my doctor so the information can be spread to others who suffer as well. ... Read more

Product Description
“Women today not only deserve but should expect a pain-free, active lifestyle, no matter their age, no matter their previous experience.”

Pain Free for Women

In his famed San Diego clinic, Pete Egoscue has taught women of all ages and from all walks of life how to use the Egoscue Method for safe, effective, and permanent relief from chronic pain without prescription painkillers, physical therapy, or invasive surgery. Now he shares his specially adapted “Pain Free” program for women to use at home.

Whether you suffer from back or neck pain, joint discomfort or sore knees, or need more stamina, improved balance, and extra strength, here is a revolutionary and proven approach to self-care that promises optimal health through a simple set of exercises that will transform the way you move and feel — forever!

Egoscue shows women how to take back their bodies by recovering and restoring a precious health asset — full, free, flexible motion — that he believes has been drastically reduced by our modern lifestyle.

As Egoscue explains, motion not only develops a woman’s body but also maintains and rejuvenates it. Yet as her motion-deprived muscles disengage and weaken, it is common for a woman’s body to lose alignment, leading to repetitive stress injuries, persistent pain, and general bad health. Even the simplest activities — how she sits, stands, walks, works, lifts, and sleeps — can trigger problems.

Focusing on proper alignment, posture, and muscle engagement, Egoscue provides simple but powerful techniques to restore flexibility and function while at the same time boosting energy, revving up the immune system, even raising the body’s metabolic rate.

The remarkable “E-cises” included within have also been linked to improved ability to fight disease, cope with aging, and recover from accidents and injuries. The “miracle” cure Egoscue offers is, simply, correct motion.

Organized by the seasons of a woman’s life, Pain Free for Women pays particular attention to age-specific concerns such as puberty, childbirth, and menopause, as well as special issues such as arthritis, PMS, and depression.

At the same time, Egoscue shows how women can build a framework of healthy movement that will prevent illness and maintain pain-free good health throughout the journey of life.

According to Egoscue, reversing the effects of poor musculoskeletal fitness provides astonishing benefits, including:

•Better balance, posture, and breathing, as well as increased resiliency
•Effective and safe weight management
•Healthy bone density and visual acuity
•Heightened sex drive
•Delayed symptoms of aging
•Peace of mind and general tranquility

Extensively illustrated to demonstrate proper placement, posture, and movement, Pain Free for Women offers women of every age the possibility of feeling better than ever before.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

too wordy
I highly recommend Egoscue's other book PAIN FREE which worked miracles in my life ....helped me aleviate back pain I have had for years!This book, however is tedious and wordy.I would recommend you stick with his other books ...unless you are pregnant and then this one might be very helpful.

organized exercises
I like the organization of this book.Drawings and explanations of exercises are clear and concise.I do not know if the exercises will work for those with severe chronic pain, but the exercises are basic enough that anyone can find an applicable ecercise.

a must-read!
This book is a Must-Read!I've suffered from chronic back pain for years, and I think this guy's on to something.Give it a look!

Unbelievable!!!!!
I cannot believe how good this book works!If you follow the program as specified, it works miracles!I have actually cancelled a steroidal lumbar puncture that was scheduled for my back pain because this book decreased it so much!I cannot get over my newly-improved flexibility; not to mention my lack of pain!!!This book was worth every penny!I have told all of my friends about it!!

REAL REVOLUTION
If you are a woman with chronic pain and tired of Physical Therapy, pain killers and being told it is what it is, you owe it yourself to read the book and start with exercises. You will see the improvement almost right away. I have become a believer. ... Read more

Product Description

The bestselling author of From Fatigued to Fantastic shows chronic pain sufferers how to treat the underlying causes of pain and regain health and vitality

Pain Free 1-2-3 demonstrates the four critical components for healing tissue: getting optimum nutrition and sleep, correcting hormonal levels, and eliminating the factors that put stress on the body. Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum provides more than 100 treatments combining both natural and prescription approaches to guide you on how to aid the body in healing, locate the source of their pain, and tailor treatments for maximum effect.

“An excellent and powerfully effective part of the standard of practice for treatmentof people who suffer from fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome.”--The Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management

Customer Reviews (23)

This is helpful when other attempts have failed in dealing with pain.
This book is very helpful, and it doesn't wander and waste words.Briefly, he tells you how to decrease or eliminate pain in ways you may not have tried before.It is worth reading.

Great Easy Read
Lots of information broken into easy to use sections. Worth the read and not too technical for the novice.

Less Pain
After following some of the suggestions in Pain Free 1-2-3, I am seeing a big improvement in the way I feel- much less pain. There are still many suggestions I am going to use in the next few weeks and months and I hope to improve even more. I enjoyed the writing style of Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum and am especially interested in his natural remedies. Having been in chronic pain himself, I feel he understands pain on a personal level. I really like the book and I'm so glad I purchased it.

This is the best book on pain management.It is a must have book!
This is the best book that I have read on how to manage chronic pain. I am so happy that I dared to put hope out there and spend money on a book on pain management, since the first few books didn't hit the mark or offer any valuable suggestions. While this book may not cure chronic pain it does give you some excellent ways to cut down on the severity of the pain.A big thank you to the author....

Must Read Book!
This is a great little book. I tried his End Pain formula,
on page 326. In less than 2 weeks my arthritis and fibromyalgia pain were virtually gone! I had tried lots of
other products and formulas for arthritis, and they did not
relieve the pain the way the End Pain Formula does. You can
buy the product from his website, or you can order the ingredients individually, and make your own. I usually order
from Swanson, as their products cost less. That's what I did.
I also take glucosamine and chondroitin and MSM,and D-Ribose.
I have found these products to help along with the End Pain
Formula. So I recommend the "Pain Free 1-2-3" book highly. ... Read more

Product Description
Explain Pain by David Butler and Dr. Lorimer Moseley is an evidence based book designed for therapists, patients and students. It answers the most common questions asked by pain sufferers: 'why do I hurt?' and 'what can I do for my pain?' Written in simple language that anyone can understand, it encourages patients to move better and research shows that they will have less pain once they have understood its underlying causes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Amazing!!
If my doctors had told me just one tenth of what this book explains so lucidly, I believe my back pain could have been drastically improved many years ago. "Explain Pain" is really well written, very informative, beautifully illustrated and ... even funny. Simply put, it's complete course in understanding how pain works and how you can improve your pain situation. The book is way more expensive than other pain management books, and I pondered a while before ordering because of the price. But compared to what my pain costs financially in treatment, medication, complementary therapies ++ it's really not a lot of money. Actually, I believe this was a great investment. The day after I started reading "Explain Pain" I had a major pain flare, which I managed to stop without medication, simply using the stuff I learned from the book.

How a Self-Help Book Should Be Written
This book conveys a recent, surprising update on chronic injury-related pain. It convinces you that pain can assume a life of its own long after the original injury has healed or been resolved.A complex of nervous, inflammatory and endocrine systems, which emerged in response to the injury, continues sui generis to make you miserable.

The authors adduce much information from psychology and neuroscience that leads to key conclusions.The approach to pain relief should change after a while from analgesics and passive physiotherapy to an adaptive program of gradually return to normal activity.This means systematic increase in negotiating pain-making movements while disregarding temporary pain increases. You have to try doing things that make symptoms worse for a bit. Shying away from challenges simply fixes expectations that you will remain hurt and invalided. A list of high quality references from peer-reviewed medical literature backs up the text.

The book's content is presented on big, wide pages of jargon-free text and apealing illustrations, all packaged in a ring binder and cover flap that lets you keep your place easily while consulting cross-references elsewhere in the bookthat reinforce the current message.Brief reviews at the ends of chapters also boost memory.

There are good reasons why this unusual book commands its premium price.

Explain Pain is an essential tool in health care....
This is such a worthwhile investment if you're dealing with patients in pain. Written in a readable format, this is the product of highly qualified specialists in the field, and helps to clarify many of the more esoteric components of this complex subject.Explain Pain

Very Helpful
I made the mistake of trying to read "Explain Pain" like a novel; it's not! Reading the book slowly & thoughtfully in small sections is best. There is a wealth of information here presented in a humorous and palatable way. Lots of good tips. Loads of insight I never would have been able to discern on my own. My life has improved because of this book.

simply the best
This book is super easy to read and provides all the information needed for the pain sufferer,their family and carers in plain format in a simple unbiased way.The cartoons are fantastic and add a needed touch of light hearted humour.
It is just as helpful for medical professionals.
It is good to have in the book case to reread in part or whole as the need arises. ... Read more

Product Description
We all experience pain! Every day millions of people live in a world of heartache. We're forced to smile and pretend that everything is all right. You've been wounded, and you just can't seem to heal. You try to get on with your life, but you just can't move on. You forgive, but you can't forget! Every day exhumes the pain you try to bury. It cripples your relationships with people, God, and life itself. It destroys your ability to pursue your dreams.

This paradigm-shattering book will free you from the forces that would turn you into a victim. It will lead you step-by-step through a simple process that will free you from the pain of the past and protect you from the pain of the future.

Highlighted Contents:
* Break the secret link to the pain of the past
* Identify the number one source of suffering
* Never be hurt by another insult
* Learn the only biblical way to prevent pain
* Free yourself from the need to judge others
* Experience freedom from critcism

Discover the emotional freedom that everyone wants but few experience! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Mixed Reaction
I just finished the book, and I thought the author made some excellent points. Unfortunately, I don't agree with him on his main point that we are never to judge people. I believe we are called to make righteous judgments (John 7:24) in the right spirit. After we have taken the plank out of our own eye, we are able to see clearly to take the plank out of our brother's eye (Matt 7:5). This must be done in great humility and with the right spirit.

The author makes a great point in giving people the benefit of the doubt when they have offended you. His recommendation to talk to the individually directly after a conflict to discuss the situation instead of letting offense fester is superb.

Awesome
This book is a must read for everyone looking to build healthy relationships with the people around them on a daily basis. This book will help you define and establish boundaries that will keep you emotionally healthy and whole.

It Stopped!
This book / author reveals so much insight and depth into 'how to' recover from life issues and pain. I will give this to everyone to read.

How to Stop the Pain
I have found this to be an outstanding tool, not only in my own life but in the lives of the women I minister to.Since reading this book and applying the scriptural principals, I have hadremarkable success at improving my personal communications, especially communicating with my husband. I was shocked when I actually realized how often I judged his motives one way, and upon asking him "why" found I was completely off base in my assessment.... What a blessing.
I found myself recommending this book so often to my women at our church, that I finally ordered 20 copies and set up a bible study group... the women can not stop talking about how the main principals of this book are helping them... Don't judge motives, apply forgiveness, allow others to have the information they need to repent when they offend or harm you, and fix yourself first... just for starters :)
Please take the time to read this book and search out the scriptures used... apply the scriptures.You will regain peace in your life.

Book has not arrived
Would like to read this book but it has never arrived. Was ordered 3/1/2010 and now it is 4/3/2010. Seems like that is enough time for shipping, folks. ... Read more

Product Description
Relieve and prevent chronic pain forever with this simple, safe, and sure-fire three-minute daily program!

Imagine a world free of aches and pains...no back pain, headaches, joint stiffness, or arthritis; no expensive ergonomic equipment or pain medications. With Dr. Joseph Weisberg's revolutionary new system, a pain-free life is now within reach of everyone--even those who have endured chronic pain for years.

At the heart of Dr. Weisberg's system is the 3-Minute Maintenance Method--a unique program for all ages and fitness levels that eliminates the conditions that cause pain in the first place. By utilizing six different thirty-second therapeutic movements the program makes it possible for the body to keep itself free of pain.

Thanks to Dr. Weisberg's groundbreaking program, relief--and a lifetime of healthy muscles and joints--is finally at hand. In fact, it's just three minutes away! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

If you can get to the meat of the book...
Night after night I kept reading and reading the ramblings until halfway through there are a half a dozen pages that explain what the book is about. Really, it is just some yoga stretches. Then back to a few variations and more ramblings. This would make a terrific pamphlet, but then he couldn't charge as much. I found the page after page of theory and background to be unnecessary, poorly written, and mind-numbingly boring.

If I had it to do over again, I would have spent five minutes scanning the book to page 132.

Will/have the stretches helped? Maybe. I agree with his theory that stretching each of your muscles each day is good for you. But it hasn't had a huge affect on my rheumatoid arthritis.

I do think it would be great for kids especially to get in the habit of doing these stretches each day. Had I started it years ago, I think it would have saved me major back pain now.

Not long after I started doing these, an old shoulder injury resurfaced and I had to have a prednisone shot for it. I am hoping to avoid surgery. So yes, they can irritate previous injuries.

Great book for feeling better
There are many books on reducing pain, but I know this one works and works very fast.The exercises are very simple and take no time at all to learn.He even has versions of his exercises for those who have limitations.Bottom line, when I do these exercises my decade long shoulder pain is gone.Got to love that!

Incredibly effective for me!!!!
I broke my right hip about 10 years ago and healed really well.I didn't have any problems but about two or three years later I began to experience pain whenever I was walking.I couldn't walk for more than five minutes without having to stop and sit down on something for a minute or two.I also could not stand for more than five minutes without incredible pain and I would have to sit as well.I believe that injury put my body out of balance through the micro-injuries that are discussed in this book.

I went to my doctor, took pain medications, had an MRI, injections in my lower back, and also saw a physical therapist.Each helped to only a limited degree.I would still wind up having pain in walking or standing.

I came across this book in my public library, ordered a copy for myself through Amazon, read the first half and then started doing the six stretch exercises.A miracle happened!!!My pain started dissolving and in three months it was all gone.I was able to walk as much as I wanted and to stand for however long without any pain at all.

I recently strained or tore some muscles in my lower back through lifting an object that was two heavy for me.I've gone through a lot of pain for three weeks letting the muscles heal but now have started the stretches again.The magic is working again!!!

I have recommended this book to anyone who has chronic muscle or joint pain of any kind.Yes, the exercises may just be yoga stretches, or yes, stretches every physical therapist may know, but the clear writing, the easy arrangement of effective exercises that decreased and eliminated my back pain results in my saying:"The promise on the cover is unbelievably true." Too bad there isn't a prize for someone like this who has discovered an easy method to help people and then writes an inexpensive book that can help millions.

I bought this book to give as gifts to friends and family
With this book I managed to cure my sciatica problem in 10 days.What a relief!

3 Minutes review
An excellent book with great ideas for pain management.Shipped fast from the seller. ... Read more

Product Description
Twenty-five years after her classic On Photography, Susan Sontag returns to the subject of visual representations of war and violence in our culture today.

How does the spectacle of the sufferings of others (via television or newsprint) affect us? Are viewers inured--or incited--to violence by the depiction of cruelty? In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag takes a fresh look at the representation of atrocity--from Goya's The Disasters of War to photographs of the American Civil War, lynchings of blacks in the South, and the Nazi death camps, to contemporary horrific images of Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Israel and Palestine, and New York City on September 11, 2001.

In Regarding the Pain of Others Susan Sontag once again changes the way we think about the uses and meanings of images in our world, and offers an important reflection about how war itself is waged (and understood) in our time.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Great work on the power and deceipt of images
Susan Sontag is known as a lover as well as a critique of photography. In Regarding the Pain of Others she focuses on the impact of horrible war-images - starting with paintings such as Goya's Disasters of the War (1810-1820) going up to the present, in which first photography and then film have taken over. She rightly and strongly criticises the old idea that 'pictures show the truth', and horrible pictures 'the truth of war', an idea especially popular in the Interwar Years (Ernst Friedrich, Virginia Woolf), but certainly anything but dead after 1945. Pictures have frames so they are framed (even when they are not staged or manipulated) and therefore can not show the truth in all its nuance, in all its effects. And besides: the photographer can have his or her intentions when painting or shooting the image, but that is not to say that this intention is indeed the consequence publication will have. A book that makes you think, and that is always a compliment.

Leo van Bergen
Author of: Before my Helpless Sight. Suffering, dying and military medicine on the Western Front 1914-1918 (Ashgate Publishing 2009)

Who is the "we"?
The title Regarding the Pain of Others refers to the dominant way in which we as modern humans view war and other atrocities, namely we regard such horrors through printed images.The book is concerned primarily with photographs but sometimes delves into films.Sontag suggests that we are inundated with wave after wave of depictions of atrocities, and it is this flood that defines our experience of war and atrocities.The larger question that Sontag proposes is what is the result of this flood of images?What reactions does it cause in humans?Is this good or is this bad?I think the key to the book is to accept this flood of images as a system.All systems create a dominant view.Sontag tries to define this dominant view that emerges from this flood.She looks at all of this in all its complications.She is clearly not a simple minded thinker.And that is the pleasure of this book.As she gazes at war photography (we don't even have to see it; we have seen enough of it to know), we think about how we ourselves experience atrocity and war photography in our daily lives.When I look at war pictures I am always surprised at the cruelty of human beings.Susan Sontag writes that someone who is perennially surprised about the reoccurrence of human depravity and who feels constantly incredulous about the capability of human beings to inflict cruelty on others has not reached psychological adulthood.And I think she is correct in that; I, like many others, have not.I find I am still interested in why and who's to blame.Perhaps being concerned with why and who is to blame isn't constructive; it may only serve to keep one from truly regarding the suffering in the world.Does living in flood of pictures and horror spectacles bolster this?Does it make us feel so remote from others that distant acts of human cruelty seem alien to us.I'm not sure, but the book has certainly made me think about it.This is certainly a book to read and if possible read again!

"the ethical value of an assault by images"
In her On Photography, which appeared 35 years ago, Susan Sontag worried that the public's continuous exposure to horrific photos of the violence of war might backfire.The purpose (or at least one of the purposes) of such photos is to rouse opposition to the cruelty of war.But the continuous publication of them can surfeit and benumb, encouraging instead public passivity.

In her Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag rethinks this claim (even though it's now become received wisdom), suggesting that such photos in fact haunt us.True, our attraction to images of suffering can be prurient (Plato, in the Republic, was the first to catalog this human curiosity).The way in which a photo of suffering is framed, moreover, can transform it from an object of horror into one (primarily) of heroism.But notwithstanding these and other manipulations, photos of war victims remain what Sontag calls "emblems of suffering" that awaken us to the fact that the violence of warfare is very real indeed, and that we may be complicitous in it, notwithstanding the fact that, as "spectators," we are far removed from the imaged violence.Photographs shouldn't be "supposed to repair our ignorance about the history and causes of the suffering [they] pick out and frame."But they are effective "invitation[s] to pay attention" (p. 117).Viewing photographs of suffering is no substitute for hard thinking about war, murderous violence, and our moral responsibilities.But photos can spark and fuel such reflection (p. 103).For those of us who will never have firsthand experience of the horrors of war, this vicarious exposure can be a moral catalyst.That we can turn away from such photos does nothing to "impugn the ethical value of an assault by images" (p. 116).

Like all Sontag-authored extended essays, this one is so rich in ideas and insights that at times it seems (but ony, I believe, seems) to ramble.Along the way, Sontag discusses the history of war photography, the ethical dilemma of merely "looking at" atrocities rather than doing something about them, the French school of "the spectacle" founded by Guy Debord and made "respectacle" by Baudillard and Bataille.Chapter headings would be profoundly helpful here, as well as an occasional summary.But Sontag presumably wants to provoke thought in her readers, and hesitates to provide roadmaps.

Moreover, accompanying photographs would be helpful, especially since Sontag refers to a good baker's dozen to illustrate her arguments.The curious thing--and perhaps this was her point--is that any educated reader is likely to form an immediate memory image of the photo under discussion.We are, indeed, haunted by such photos.

An intriguing, genuinely thought-provoking book--and thought-provoking books are rare these days.

Excellent anti-war book
Surely Susan Sontag addresses the pain of others and how to deal with it, but her book goes deeply against all war, and as such, should have been read by George W. Bush before he started the Iraq war. She shows a great deal of sensitivity to what pain is caused by war, and how senseless it is. This is one of her books that makes me regret that she never received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Fortunately, she received a number of other literary prizes she nobly deserved, such as the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.

A Book that Everybody Must Read!!!
Susan Sontag only passed away recently. She was more of a philosopher, social activist, literary critic, and essayist than a fictional writer. In this book, she points out British writer Virginia Woolfe's view of war in today's society. War is a crime and an outrage where ever it might be whether it's in the boardroom, Wall Street, Sarajevo, Kabul, Baghdad, etc. War comes in many shapes and forms but what does war really mean to us. Is it about killing human lives or what about the destruction of the human soul in our society, we are transformed by the images displayed on cable television about the two wars going on and the lives lost. We are close to four thousand American soldiers being killing in Iraq. We had no reason to go but we did and now we must clean up the mess. I totally support our troops overseas because they are selfless human beings who would sacrifice their lives for their country. But what about the leaders who sent them there only to return home in coffins or end up at Walter Reed Medical Center for the injured veterans. Are the injured better off than the casualties? Maybe not because they have to live with their images of war and their actions. Sontag's book works because it makes us think about war without thinking so much about it. Where do we stand? Of course, it would be a perfect world without war and peace prevailed but war is a fact of life. Maybe Sontag should have used examples of wartime strategies that are not so gory or gloom with images of death and destruction. She did not live long enough to see Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the Gulf Coast. What about the business world where casualties are not just in coffins but at the unemployment office? This book made me think so that's why I'm writing about this situation. We lose 18,000 Americans every year because they lack health insurance, that's six times the amount of the victims of September 11, 2001. Maybe we don't have to declare war, uninsured Americans are at war with a society who has neglected them or disregarded their needs for whatever reason. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (46)

the story of a loner
James Sveck, eighteen years old, lives in New York City. He lives with his several times divorced mother and his older sister , he sees his father every Friday for lunch, but of choice enjoys visiting his one time actress grandmother. He is bright, articulate, a thinker, and a loner; he finds peers insufferable and prefers the company of is elders, and maybe he has a crush on John, the manager of his mother's art gallery.

James story covers the period leading up to his possible entry into college, something he decides he does not want to do, he would prefer his father spent the money on a down payment on the old and remote house of his dreams. It is an affecting and captivating story told by an interesting and endearing young man; and for anyone who is happy in their own company a story that will strike more than a few chords.

GOOD READ FOR ANYONE
THIS IS A GOOD READ AMD OFFERS A LOT OF INSIGHT INTO THE WRITER'SMIND AND IS SOMEWHAT HELPFUL FOR ALL.

The young misanthrope
James Sveck has a problem: he's been accepted into Brown and he's not even sure he wants to go to college. "I don't like people in general and people my age in particular, and people my age are the ones who go to college." He also finds everyone else boring: "People, at least in my experience, rarely say anything interesting to each other. . . . For some reason I think you should only say something if it's interesting or absolutely has to be said."

What Peter Cameron realizes, as his character doesn't, is that even mundane lives and everyday thoughts can indeed be "interesting." The irony here, of course, is that, although not too many teenagers have a mother who breaks off her latest marriage during the honeymoon, James's experiences are not all that unique and his story, on its own, is not all that compelling. Notwithstanding his own belief that people "don't have very interesting lives," he's more than able to entertain us for 225 pages about his own. James's so-called life is neither the stuff of delinquency nor a goldmine for biographers; a prank on a friend gone wrong and a rebellious transgression during a student trip to DC are about the extent of his misfortunes. Yet his sarcasm and wit, his cynicism, and his acuity can turn even a typically dreary night at dinner theater into a torturous rite of passage. And far and away the best passages in the novel describe visits with his sharp-witted, no-nonsense grandmother, during which nothing much "interesting" appears other than the quieter, gentler boy who peaks out from under James's shell.

Cameron's style occasionally echoes that of William Maxwell, and I was not at all surprised to notice, on the author's Web site, that he counts Maxwell among his literary influences. In spite of the protagonist's incipient misanthropy, however, the novel lacks the mischievous malice of, say, "The Folded Leaf" or of Benjamin Taylor's recent "The Book of Getting Even" (which also evokes Maxwell). Since I've not read Cameron's other novels I can't judge whether his Maxwell Lite is deliberately aimed at a younger audience or if it's the author's usual style.

Even so, James's half-heartedly flippant tone (which ranges from whining to winning) certainly doesn't hurt the novel--except in the passages describing James's sessions with a psychiatrist. "I hate this idea . . . that there's a problem, that there is something as simple as a problem, and you can identify the problem, and then fix the problem, and then there isn't a problem," mopes Cameron's Everyboy. This predictably combative dialogue is only slightly more expressive than that found in other shrink-patient ping-pong matches crowding the pages of modern coming-of-age stories. (American literature and film would hardly suffer if there were a moratorium on dialogue between a surly teenager and an empathic psychiatrist.)

Not surprisingly, James's grandmother achieves far more of a "breakthrough" than would any doctor, when she offhandedly pinpoints the motive behind the prank against his friend. Whenever this slim bildungsroman sticks to the routine realities of James's very ordinary angst and his fairly ordinary family, rather than wallowing in their analysis, it is really quite perceptive and, often, painfully funny.

Short But Sweet
At the beginning of the book, James is annoying with his superior than thou attitude.Towards the middle, when you get down to his issues, it starts to make sense.It's a small snapshot of a few weeks in James' life.Nice story, but there isn't a major cathartic scene.You just see his life drifting in another direction.

Thoughtful Not-Coming-of-Age Story
I hadn't heard any of the buzz about Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You before I picked it up, and my lack of expectation was therefore far exceeded. This book felt honest and real to me, and I had to check to make sure Peter Cameron hadn't just graduated from Brown himself. The lonely, depressed, and lost main character struck a major chord with me, and, seventeen and living in New York myself, I could relate to so many things James thought and did. Even his stupidities, the things he cannot believe he is doing even as he is doing them, were so true-to-life that I had trouble believing this wasn't a non-fictional memoir. Thoughtful and deep, a (more) modern-day Catcher in the Rye, Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You is a lovely book which I recommend to all. ... Read more

Product Description
Did you know that ginger can prevent migraines and that coffee sometimes cures them? Did you know that rice can calm your digestion, that sugar can make you more sensitive to pain, that evening primrose can ease the symptoms of arthritis?
        
Drawing on new and little-known research from prestigious medical centers around the world, Neal Barnard, M.D., author of Eat Right, Live Longer and Food for Life, shows readers how they can soothe everyday ailments and cure chronic pain by using common foods, traditional supplements, and herbs.
        
Dr. Barnard reveals which foods regularly contribute to pain and how to avoid them. He guides the reader to specific pain-safe foods that are high in nutrition but don't upset the body's natural balance, as well as foods that actively soothe pain by improving blood circulation, relieving inflammation, and balancing hormones. Complete with delicious recipes, Foods That Fight Pain is a revolutionary approach to healing that will transform your life.Amazon.com Review
Foods have special effects on pain, and research studiessubstantiate this, says Neal Barnard, M.D., in Foods That FightPain, a book endorsed by fellow doctors Dean Ornish and AndrewWeil. You can use foods to fight pain in these ways:

1. Choosepain-safe foods. Reduce inflammation by avoiding foods that may becausing or aggravating your pain.

2. Add soothing foods that easepain. Different foods may improve blood flow, relieve inflammation, orbalance hormones.

3. Use supplements if needed. Herbs, extracts,and vitamins can relieve pain.

Barnard explores a variety ofmedical conditions, such as migraines, arthritis, digestive problems,fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, herpes, sickle-cellanemia, kidney stones, urinary infections, and back, chest, breast,menstrual, and cancer pain. For each, Barnard explains the causes ofthe pain and what dietary changes are likely to alleviate it, withexercise and lifestyle recommendations. Barnard backs up his pointswith 30 pages of research citations.

Most of the recipes are quickto prepare, and include an elimination diet to avoid trigger foods. Anutritional breakdown (calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, andsodium) accompanies each recipe. Following the advice in this bookwill not only relieve your pain, but increase your overallhealth. Highly recommended. --Joan Price ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

painaid
Nothing new in this bookthat's not in numerous other books 0n the subject.

Helpful Suggestions
The book was helpful, but contained much information that was interesting but not directly beneficial to me.

NOT!
Please do not waste your hard earned money on this title.I was excited to order what I thought would be a book with innovative new discoveries, or documented research.Mistake!Same ole same ole...........sorry I cannot think of anything positive about this book-oh yes, it does have a nice cover.

Disappointing
A friend recommended this book as very helpful.I just didn't find anything different than in many other
books and articles I have read.

my arthritis is almost GONE!!
After following dr. Barnard for 2 weeks,the difference is amazing...I can walk freeer. Also the over the counter cream he recommends helps too.
this book is a must for all sufferers of arthritis and gout, hooray for dr. Barnard!! ... Read more

Product Description
This much-needed book pinpoints the typical problems abused children experience when they become adults. The information is presented in a friendly and thorough manner for victims and professionals. Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Not my first choice
Very short and while the information is valid, it would have been the same had I just done a little research on the internet. Not worth the price.

Lacks empathy
This book might have as well been called "Sexual abuse guide for dummies". Author's intention might have been good, providing the basics for "beginners" but how can one simplify such horrors as child sexual abuse? There is no deeper understanding in this book of what this experience can do to a person. A title of one chapter reads "Ok, I believe it, now what?". I cannot imagine anyone adopting such tone, whether having gone through it or knowing someone who did.
Even though I don't like it, I am glad to see that it did help many people. But if you feel repelled by the style of this book as me, check the Secret survivors by E. Sue Blume. Amazingly intelligent and empathicly written.

enlighteling
This was recommended by my new therapist with good reason,It applies to a large group of people. I have found an easier and more digest-able way to view the way I was raised due to this read.I never realized that being ignored and being raged at was a form of abuse.I appreciate the education this simple book has to offer.I have never been one for the victim-y or poor me stuff, this gave me some real perspective.

Hard to find book; great service here!! THANKS!!
The author has a wealth of experience working with children. The book is easy to read. It is really helpful and each page is a thought provoker. Better is read slower so the reader has plenty of reflective time. This book and the author will be classics in the child abuse and treatment category. Self-help or in therapy, the book and its author are right on.

Essential resource
This book presents a simple, friendly clinical resource that is helpful to therapists and as bibliotherapy for clients who are dealing with abuse. ... Read more

Product Description

"The Pain" and "The Great One" are not their real names. But you may know their voices. When this girl, age eight, and this boy, age six, tell all about each other, they sound a lot alike. They are brother and sister and they're caught in a contest over whom Mom and Dad love most. You probably know who wins, too, in this funny, family picturebook. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Sibling rivalry at its best.
Anyone who is anyone with a sister or a brother can relate to this one. The Pain (the younger brother) andthe Great One (the older sister)believe that their parents love the other more. Judy tell us why mom and dad love the Pain more than The Great One (through her eyes) and The Pain in turn stats why he believes that their parents love The Great One more. Neither realizes that they are equally loved by their parents. My oldest daughter who is almost 14 says "I Love This One!"

Honest book about sibling rivalry
One of the great gifts of Judy Blume is that she doesn't lie to kids. Her books are refreshingly - and sometimes painfully - honest. As a kid, I sure appreciated it. Too many books lie, because they think children can't hear the truth. They ignore the fact that children already *know* the truth many times.

The truth in this book is that sometimes, having a brother or sister just sucks. The lie that most people would try to give is the moral that you really, deep down have to love your sibling after all - right?

Well, Ms. Blume skirts very *close* to that moral, when each child realizes midway through a rant that getting a special privilege without their sibling isn't any fun, and, indeed, their parents try to push that moral on them - but no, that "no fun" bit is just another reason why their sibling is awful! And the next day they remembered, not the moral, but the rivalry.

Each child's rant about their brother/sister ends with the thought that maybe their parents like the other one best. I think we've all felt that. I did just last week, and I'm an adult :) There's no reassurance here except the other sibling saying the same thing.

If you're uncomfortable with this sort of presentation of facts, I'd suggest you borrow the book from the library before buying. Otherwise, I firmly suggest you buy this book for your own library.

Favorite Childhood Book
This book is one of my all-time favorites from childhood, when you would have bet money that your parents loved your brother (or sister) more than you! Written in cute prose by the wonderful Judy Blume, this book puts sibling rivalry into a funny and sweet manner.

I only wish I could find the one from childhood, when each kid had their own "side" and the book flipped over!

Great Book- good message
This is a great book, especially for kids with siblings!It shows how both children feel like the parents like the other one better and that they don't like each other but realize that life isn't as fun without the other sibling around.Highly recommend this!!

Two sides of the coin
There are remarkably few authors that have managed to write for almost every single age group.Judy Blume is one of the few.Though admittedly she has yet to write a baby book or large print text for the elderly, Ms. Blume has somehow managed to write picture books, young readers, full chapter books, teen novels, and even an adult title in her day.We all know who Judy Blume is, but we probably know her for very different reasons.As a kid, I knew her primarily as the author of "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing".My husband, on the other hand, associates her with that deliciously forbidden text, "Forever".For some kids out there, though, "The Pain and the Great One" is going to be their first impression of this undeniably great author.As of this review, it is the only picture book ever written by Ms. Blume.Be that as it may, it shares with all her books the frustrations and confusions that all kids can relate to on some level.Ms. Blume, the great empathic, should consider adding a few more picture books to her repertoire.This first book demands it.

A white page with a pink border.In black and white print are two words: The Pain.A sister then begins to relate to us exactly why it is that her little brother is a pain.Right from the start, you see where she's coming from.This is the kind of kid who insists that his mother carry him to the breakfast table every morning.Unlike his big sister, if The Pain doesn't finish his dinner he still gets dessert.A truly shocked and probably envious sister watches, broccoli perched on her fork, as her brother dives into a delicious bowl of what looks to be strawberry shortcake.One night, she gets to stay up later than The Pain, but comes to the almost immediate conclusion that, "without the Pain there's nothing to do!".The cat seems to prefer him and she finishes with the thought that when it comes to her parents, "I think they love him better than me".Suddenly we're looking at another white page with a pink border.In black and white print are three words: The Great One.Suddenly the perspective has shifted 180 degrees.We're in the head of The Pain and he's talking about his older sister.Sarcastically referring to her as The Great One, the boy talks about all the stuff she gets to do that he doesn't.She feeds the cat, so it must obviously like her better.She knows how to do all sorts of stuff without messing up.She swims with pleasure and isn't afraid to put her face in the water.The boy's final thoughts refer to his own parents as well."I think they love her better than me".The end.

The book was originally published in 1985.Reading it, I had to wonder if it could be published today.In the current publishing market, I can see well-meaning but oblivious department heads trying to convince Ms. Blume to give the story an ending where the boy and girl become best friends and everything ends up hunky-dory by the last page.I was a little shocked that on a first reading, this is exactly what I found myself expecting.No, what I expected was worse.Because when I got to the pink bordered "The Great One" page I suddenly thought that the story would show how much the little brother really and truly admires his older sister, even if she thinks he's annoying.There's probably a book like that out there somewhere.This book is not it.This is a book that tells it like it is.Sibling rivalry has never been so clear.Cleverly, Blume inserts tiny (I hesitate to call them) lessons into the story so that in the midst of each kid's litany of complaints, they learn things as well.The Great One learns that staying up late isn't fun without her horrid little brother.The Pain learns that playing with his sister's blocks all alone isn't fun in the least.If you're looking for anything more sappy than this, however, you're out of luck.This is Blume telling children what they already know, and kids will appreciate the honesty.

Illustrator Irene Trivas puts her back into this book.It's funny, but depending on who's telling the story, the illustrations shift ever-so-slightly in their favor.When The Great One talks about The Pain, everything he does is understandably annoying.When the boy talks about his sister, on the other hand, she suddenly becomes infinitely competent, intelligent, and skilled.She's annoying in an entirely different way.Trivas also gives each kid some remarkable characteristics.The Great One tends to sport a cowboy hat with a bright green or red feather planted in the brim.The Pain wears a wide variety of hats ranging from goggles, winged helmets, and baseball caps to his own cowboy hat and football helmet.Trivas hasn't done any picture books quite as prominent as this one since its publication.Let us hope she gets rediscovered in the coming years.

The obvious book to pair this one with would be, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst.Both books are legitimate complaints from kids who feel woefully put-upon.Ms. Blume's books tend to have one thing in common: They know how to show unfairness from a kid or teen's perspective.Nobody does righteous indignation like Judy Blume."The Pain and the Great One", a kind of he said/she said book is the ultimate example of this.For some kids it'll teach them that there are two sides to every story.For others, it'll just reinforce previously unsubstantiated claims that their other siblings have got it better.For me, it's just a great book that needs to get rediscovered.That's all.
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